The male tiger found dead yesterday in Kagaznagar forest in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana is suspected to have died of poisoning, forest officials said on Tuesday.

The officials also found the carcass of a cow, suspected to have been poisoned and used as bait, in the vicinity of the dead tiger.

However, the tiger carcass, found near a local stream, also had a loosened snare around its neck, officials said. Based on initial investigations and observations, the team suspect that the death was caused by poisoning, officials added.

The tiger was about five or six years old, they said.

The carcass of the tiger was found in Daregaon, approximately eight km from Kagaznagar, an official release said.

The site was inspected by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Telangana R M Dobriyal and a team appointed by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), with forest staff including veterinary surgeons, it added.

Local staff have intensified efforts to apprehend the culprit and an FIR has also been lodged in the local police station, the officials said, adding that samples were sent to a laboratory for forensic investigation.

Both the tiger carcass and the dead cow were was disposed off as per NTCA norms.

This is the second case of a reported tiger death in the Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district. On January 6, the forest staff had found a carcass of a one-and-a-half-year-old tigress in the area located in the Tiger corridor of Kawal Tiger Reserve.

Based on the observations and investigation, the team recorded the death of the tigress as a case of "territorial fight" between tigers.

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